Mesoamerican Empires

Which of the Mesoamerican Empires is the oldest

• Inca

• Aztec

• Mayan

• Olmec

Answer explanation

The Olmecs came before even the Mayans who are the second oldest empire. Their culture influenced the growth of Mayan society.

The capital of the Aztec empire is?

• Tenochtitlan

• Texcoco

• Tlacopan

• Cortez

Answer explanation

Tenochtitlan was the center of the Aztec world. Modern day Mexico City is built where it once stood.

The Inca system of mandated state servitude each year was called?

• Quipas

• Mit'a

• Inti

• Cuzco

Answer explanation

The Mit'a was a mandated state service that enabled the Inca to create many of the great structures of the Andes that we see today as ruins. Don't be fooled though this massive network of cities and roads could not have been created without this conscripted labor.

What year did the Spanish arrive at the Incan Empire in Peru?

• 1519

• 1492

• 1532

• 1602

Answer explanation

The Spanish arrived in Mexico in the year 1519 a mere 27 years after Columbus arrived in the New World in 1492. They did not reach the Incas in Peru however, until the year 1532.

The major resource contribution the Spanish obtained from the Inca Empire Was?

• Gold

• Crops

• Silver

• Tobacco

Answer explanation

The Spanish actually found so much silver that they reinstituted the Mit'a to have the necessary labor to mine it all.

The Maya utilized what types of farming to survive on the Yucatan?

• Terrace Farming

• Row cropping

• Slash and Burn Farming

• Hydroponics

Answer explanation

Slash and burn farming had to be utilized to create the necessary soil nutrients to survive in the Yucatan due to it being on an ancient coral reef.

The Maya's main sources of water for life and agriculture came from?

• Rivers

• Aqueducts

• Lakes

• Cenotes

Answer explanation

Cenotes are large sink holes that actually acted as cisterns for the Maya. They stored vast amounts of water but as the population grew this became difficult to manage.

What caused the collapse of the Mayan Empire?

• Drought

• Warfare

• Starvation

• Assimilation into another culture

Answer explanation

Drought and overpopulation lead to the eventual decline of the Mayan culture in the south and they finally settled into places like Chichen Itza and Mayapan but these cities were abandoned before Spanish contact.

The Aztec Empire existed for how many years before Spanish contact?

• 100-200 years

• 300-500 years

• 500-700 years

• 1000 years

Answer explanation

The Aztecs were actually quite a recent development in the area. The Maya existed for almost 2000 years while the Inca and the Aztec were only around for a couple hundred years.

Select all that contributed to the fall of the Aztecs

• Disease

• Guns

• Subject Uprisings

• Being absorbed by another Mesoamerican Empire

Answer explanation

Disease, guns, and discontent exacerbated by the Spanish led to the downfall of the Aztec empire.